Ford loses out to Ferrari in World Endurance Championship debut

Ford Motor Company’s [NYSE:F] new GT supercar failed to shine in its second major motorsport debut, the past weekend’s season-opener for the 2016 World Endurance Championship at the legendary Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom.

The two GTs entered in the 6 Hours of Silverstone race finished fourth (car number 67) and fifth (no 66) in the GTE Pro class, with Ferrari’s [NYSE:RACE] 488 GTE, which was also making its debut, finishing first (no 71) and second (no 51) in class. Third place went to the number 95 Aston Martin Vantage GTE.

In an interesting turn of events, Audi’s win with the number 7 R18 in the premier LMP1 class was taken away. Post-race scrutineering revealed the winning car had a “front skid block” that was thicker than the regulations allowed. Thus, the win was handed to the next car to cross the finish line, the number 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid. Second place went to the number 6 Toyota TS050 Hybrid and third place to the number 13 Rebellion R-One.

Two GTs were also competing over the weekend in the United SportsCar Championship but finished fourth and eighth in the GT Le Mans class. First, second and third in class went to the Porsche 911 RSR, Chevrolet Corvette C7.R and the Ferrari 488 GTE respectively.

So far the GT has proven to be quick but not at the pace of cars from more experienced teams. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing still has some time to focus before the all-important 24 Hours of Le Mans this June. The next race in the WEC is the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on May 7. The Le Mans race runs the weekend starting June 18.